Laverty ‘close to World Superbike pace’ in Assen test

Samsung Honda’s Michael Laverty has completed a day’s testing at the Assen circuit in both wet and dry conditions, and said he was close to World Superbike pace despite having to run with exhaust baffles which cut power by around 10 per cent.

The Toomebridge man, who shared the track with team-mate Jon Kirkham and the Padgett’s Honda squad, was pleased with his performance and said that, after learning the track again, they were able to get down to some meaningful laptimes in both wet and dry.

"It was a good test and we managed to get in some time yesterday on a track day so I didn’t have to spend much time getting to know the track again this morning. We set some good laptimes, close to World Superbike pace in both wet and dry, and I managed to go faster than Eugene from this year, so that’s pleasing!" said Laverty, speaking to bikesportnews.com this evening.

"We were a bit down on power, about ten per cent, because the noise restriction meant we had to baffle the exhausts but we got everything done we needed to do in terms of setup and gearing for the track. It’s nice to get a bit of a jump on the opposition, but I expect they will get out here before the race weekend."